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SIFFcast with Brett Morgen

Director of Jane

Centerpiece Gala: Landline

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USA|2017|97 minutes|Gillian Robespierre

The director and star of Obvious Child reunite for this uproarious slice-of- life story about two sisters (Jenny Slate and breakout star Abby Quinn) in pre-cell-phone 1990s Manhattan who discover that their father is having an affair, and conspire to expose him.

CENTERPIECE GALA

TicketsFilm Only: $15 | $13 Members

Need to recharge halfway through the Festival? So do we! So we're throwing a party on Capitol Hill on June 3. Immediately after the screening of Landline, the crowd will make its way to the DAR Rainier Chapter House for music, dancing, hors d'oeuvres, desserts, and cocktails.

Film + Party: $30 | $25 MembersIncludes admission to the film, entry to the post-film party, and two drink tickets.

Saturday, June 3, 2017

Director Gillian Robespierre and comedian-star Jenny Slate are at it again, but this time they're stuck in 1995 Manhattan. Smoky bars, no cell phones, and complete family meltdowns. As eldest daughter of the family, Dana, played by the endlessly funny Jenny Slate (Obvious Child, My Blind Brother), prepares to enter the married life with fiance Ben (Jay Duplass, Manson Family Vacation), a wild streak begins. Meanwhile, her high school-age sister Ali, played by newcomer Abby Quinn, lives a secret life of sex, drugs, and clubbing. When the sisters discover love letters their father has been writing to a mystery woman, the pair team up to expose his affair while keeping their mother out of the know. In Gillian Robespierre's follow-up to SIFF 2014 hit Obvious Child, she once again creates a subversive comedy that explores how families grow stronger when forced to deal with their problems. John Turturro and Edie Falco co-star as the daughter's unraveling parents in this '90s nostalgia piece that provides constant reminders of the era, including references to then style icon, Hillary Clinton, and brick-and-mortar record stores. Landline's portrayal of sibling rivalry, parental errors, and self-indulgent characters all add up to an honest portrait of a painfully flawed family.

Director Biography

Gillian Robespierre is a filmmaker born and raised in New York City. She graduated from the School of Visual Arts film and video program. Her first feature, Obvious Child, premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, was named the year's "best discovery" on iTunes, and won Ms. Robespierre the National Board of Review Award for best directorial debut. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and daughter.

SIFF's mission is to create experiences that bring people together to discover extraordinary films from around the world. It is through the art of cinema that we foster a community that is more informed, aware, and alive.